A Century (Not
Out): Talbot 1919-2010

BY NEAL MARTIN | OCTOBER 15, 2019Christmas
Day 1999. Turkey in the oven. Christmas tree swamped by presents, a majority of
them exchanges between pets. A cucumber from Tigger to the tortoise (how thoughtful).
Aquatic members of the tropical fish tank have clubbed together to buy millet
for the budgerigar. The dog receives a chichi diamante-studded collar from the
rabbit. (You can imagine the four-legged queue at Argos.) The family – humans,
not pets – assembles for the meal, assorted siblings and grandparents gathering
around the table, the ether heavy with gravy and over-boiled Brussels sprouts.
Nobody here is an oenophile – far from it. Nevertheless, the family stemware, purchased
in the early Seventies, is making a comeback tour. I squint and examine a glass,
a bulbous design straight out of Georg Riedel’s worst nightmare, and discreetly
brush off a thin film of dust. Soon it will be filled with a special festive claret
that will reveal the joys of fermented grape juice to my unsuspecting family. The
bird and its trimmings are served, and I ceremoniously begin to pour my
precious wine, a 1955 Talbot. I stand back and await gasps of delight... 

“Oh,
it looks a funny color.”

“Tastes
odd.”

“It’s
a bit old, innit? It’s gone off.”

“Dad,
is there some Liebfraumilch left?”

I
should have known better than to pour a classically styled Saint-Julien to a
family whose only forays into the vinous world were predicated on wine buoyed
by bags of Süssreserve&nbsp;and preferably,
as a seal of quality, a blue nun on the label. 

I
never proffered a wine of noble pedigree again. Henceforth any wine would be
young, fruity and easy going.

Over
my career I have conducted verticals of nearly all châteaux classified in
1855. Despite visiting many times, Talbot is one that has evaded my capture. To
be frank, on some occasions I found it lagging behind its peers, including as
part of group blind tastings. My palate is partial to classic Bordeaux; however,
there is&nbsp;a limit and there will
always be a prerequisite of adequate fruit, freshness, complexity and substance.
The appointment of Jean-Michel Laporte, formerly technical director at La
Conseillante, suggested that maybe these shortcomings would be addressed. I
sincerely hope so, because I have a soft spot for Talbot. I want to see the
largest Left Bank grandee perform as well as its Saint-Julien cohorts, such as Léoville-Barton,
or its cousin, Gruaud Larose.

In
December 2018, the Cordier family – Jean-Paul and Nancy Bignon-Cordier,
accompanied by their three children, Philippine, Marguerite and Gustave –organized
a vertical tasting at the château to celebrate a century of ownership. Here
was my chance to investigate Talbot in detail, gain a clearer picture and
ascertain whether my lukewarm reaction to some vintages is well founded or
otherwise. Would I discover a period in time when Talbot was challenging the elite?
Are there particular growing seasons that suit its terroir? Would they serve
over-boiled Brussels sprouts at the post-tasting lunch?<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1571150190771-talbot+bottles+line+up_copy.jpg"> 

History

John
Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, is said to have inspired the name of the château.
He was a celebrated commander at the battle of Castillon, a popular and
well-respected figure in the “golden days” when Bordeaux was under British
rule. In his 80s, he was dispatched back to Bordeaux in 1451 to lead what
transpired to be the final rear-guard action by Charles VII; he was killed after
apparently going into battle unarmed. No record exists of him owning land, but
his esteem was such that numerous places honor his name. Indeed, the famous Belleyme
map refers to “Talabot” in Saint-Julien. There is little primordial history of
the estate, though for certain the earliest proprietors were the Marquises
d’Aux de Lescout, a family that hailed from Armagnac. Their tenure lasted some
200 years, during which time the estate was referred to as Talbot d’Aux. (Incidentally,
the same family also lent their name to Patache d’Aux in Bégadan.) In 1855,
Talbot was classified as a fourth-growth Grand Cru Classé, and then in 1899 the
estate was auctioned off and acquired by Monsieur A. Claverie. He ran the
property for a couple of decades before Désiré Cordier purchased it in 1918,
just a year after picking up the door keys for Gruaud Larose.

Désiré
Cordier was an extremely successful merchant and businessman, establishing his
namesake company in 1886. Bernard Ginestet described him as a person who liked
to thumb his nose at the Bordeaux aristocracy, ergo he never achieved any
higher standing than mayor of Saint-Julien. Jacques Cordier, who had a penchant
for classic cars, then took the helm, followed by his son, Jean Cordier. Jean passed
away in 1993, and at this point the exclusive distribution via the Cordier négociant company ceased. Management of the estate passed to Jean’s daughters and their
husbands – namely, Nancy Bignon-Cordier, who married Jean-Paul Bignon, and
Lorraine Cordier, who married Thierry Rustmann, the latter relinquishing their
interest to focus on Château Sénéjac.&nbsp;

I
have met Jean-Paul Bignon a few times over the years. The word that immediately
comes to mind when I think of him is “jolly;” he is loquacious and affable, always
with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. This is sometimes a rare
commodity in Bordeaux, which has a tendency to take itself too seriously. On March
1, 2018, Jean-Michel Laporte took over from the retiring Jean-Pierre Marty as
technical director of the estate, heralding a new chapter for the Saint-Julien
property. Charged with reinvigorating Talbot, he is bound to make some changes.
His task will be to meliorate the wine while keeping the signature of Talbot
intact, a subject that shall be broached in my concluding comments.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1571150211401-talbot+nancy+bignon-cordier_copy.jpg"> Pictured at the tasting, Jean-Paul and Nancy Bignon-Cordier

The Vineyard

Talbot
is located directly north of Gruaud Larose. Most people will have espied the
water tower driving up the D2 artery in Saint-Julien; it belongs to Talbot,
although the estate has never used any water itself, tempting as it must be
with the recent spate of dry growing seasons.

The
property faces southwest and stretches up to the Pauillac border. It is the
largest classed growth, comprising some 160 hectares with 110 hectares under
vine, and has increased in size through piecemeal acquisitions in recent
decades. Unusually for the Left Bank, the vines have always remained as a
single block, which rises to around 23 meters. The current composition of the
vineyard is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, the latter
a pet favorite of Nancy Bignon-Cordier. The soil is a mixture of gravel and sand
over sandstone bedrock, with more clayey parcels scattered across the vineyard.
Toward the western flank, the gravel is shallower and the higher proportion of
sand means that these parcels tend to produce lighter wines. Unusually, Talbot
includes parcels of white varieties, Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, first
planted in the 1930s by Georges Cordier for personal consumption. There are
currently around five hectares of white varieties (80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20%
Sémillon) in commercial production as Le Caillou Blanc de Talbot. Approximately
2,500 cases are produced each year. Chef
de culture&nbsp;is Damien Hostein.

The Vinification

I
will summarize the vinification based on the current modus operandi, though
this is not how the ancient vintages in this article were made. Of course, the
harvest is conducted by hand. The large size of the vineyard necessitates coordination
of over 120 pickers, though one advantage is that all the vines are in a single
block (no ferrying pickers from one parcel to another and losing a couple en
route). The fruit undergoes a rigorous sorting both in the vineyard and upon
arrival at the vat room. The berries are destemmed and sorted optically using
the popular Tribaie machine. Alcoholic fermentation used to be conducted in 25
white steel vats, installed in 1968 and covered in blue tiles, each holding 16 hectoliters.
In benevolent vintages, space could be a problem, and excess production was
occasionally stored in 4,000-liter wooden casks in addition to traditional
barriques.

In
2012, Talbot inaugurated a new barrel cellar designed by Bordeaux architects
Nairac and Vacheyrout. Covering some 1,500 square meters in order to
accommodate around 1,800 barrels, it features an arresting design, with each
pillar created like branches of a tree, splintering into four “trunks” as it
reaches the ceiling, giving the appearance of a forest. The red wine is matured
for approximately 18 months depending upon the vintage, which seems to be
shorter than the 26 to 30 months employed in the past.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1571150258933-Talbot+1_copy.jpg"> 

The barrel cellar at Château Talbot, designed by Nairac and Vacheyrout ,&nbsp;©&nbsp;Johan Berglund

The Wines

The
vertical tasting encompassed the entire Cordier era, with one vintage from each
decade. Laporte explained that the selections were not intended to be the best
of their decade, but rather a vintage that is deemed representative. Readers
should note that I have incorporated some useful background information on the
growing season, picking dates and blends provided by the château within the respective
tasting notes.

It
was a privilege to taste these ex-cellar wines, many in magnum format and some
older ones reconditioned. Details can be found in individual tasting notes.
That said, my overall impression is that no one bottle obliged superlatives or
altered my view of Talbot. This was no revelatory exercise that altered
pre-held opinions or prompted me to upgrade existing scores. That is not to
suggest that the wines were poor in any shape or fashion. Each and every one
was fascinating and, more often than not, delicious to imbibe. I admire that
throughout the decades the style remains faithful to what both Talbot and Saint-Julien
ought to be. Some sages, such as Bernard Ginestet in his Saint-Julien book
(1984), opined that the longevity of Talbot does not equal those of its peers.
I am not convinced by that assertion, and it was certainly disproven by a
vigorous magnum of 1926 Talbot, from
a useful but forgotten growing season that lies in the shadow of 1928 and 1929.
In benevolent vintages such as 1945
and 1947, performances were
commensurate with those vintage reputations.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1571150294801-talbot+1926+bottle_copy.jpg"> 

A
more refined observation is that perhaps Talbot does not meliorate as well as
other Saint-Julien crus. This is a contentious accusation, one that could be
leveled at the appellation as a whole and what might differentiate the wines
from Pauillac. Talbot does not “kick on.” It does not ascend to an echelon that
would enhance its reputation. Tasting through these vintages, I felt that there
is a limit to what Talbot can achieve that is predetermined by the
propitiousness of its terroir. Apologies for relegating the discussion to
numbers, but it underlines why none of the wines breached the 95-point level,
even if some came within touching distance. Case in point, the outstanding 1986 Talbot: structured and masculine,
in keeping with the leitmotifs of that year, yet fresh and balanced, endowed with
greater complexity than the 1982 Talbot
that I tasted as part of a 1982 horizontal a few months earlier. Another is the
2010 Talbot. It showed better than
previous bottles and looks very promising for the future. Both of these are
signposts of how Talbot might progress in the coming years.

Reflecting
further, I conjectured that the large size of Talbot might hinder its potential
but also provide Laporte with the means to take it to a higher level. The
estate has the capacity to produce thousands of cases of Grand Vin each year,
which means they could apply an even more draconian selection that would
elevate quality. It is not a homogenous terroir, and perhaps zoning in further
upon specific parcels and deselecting others could impart more breeding and
backbone. (In a sense, this is what Christian Seely instructed when he took
over the management of Pichon-Baron.) Such an approach has a palpable effect on
the quality and consistency of the Grand Vin, as evinced by the <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/looking-the-part-pichon-baron-1953-2015-jan-2019">vertical tasting</a>&nbsp;that I recounted on Vinous earlier this year. Could Laporte do
likewise with the Cordiers’ blessing at Talbot? Laporte would certainly be the
right man for the job. When I broached the subject on a visit in September
2019, he told me how he is seeking a Talbot with greater midpalate depth. This
is exactly what the wines need to keep up with their peers, and it calls for
examining the vinification, particularly the skin maceration, as well as the
way the vin de presse&nbsp;is used and the
subsequent barrel aging.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1571150307251-talbot+1945+bottle_copy.jpg"> 

Final Thoughts

This
was a thoroughly informative and enlightening tasting. Although there is no headline
wine that incited a deluge of superlatives, the wines conveyed the style of
Talbot over the years, a style that has remained remarkably consistent. I
adored ancient vintages such as 1926 as much as recent successes like the 2010.
At the same time, my role as a critic is to put wines in context, argue where I
would place them qualitatively vis-à-vis their peers and explain my reasons,
for readers to agree or otherwise. I am not going to hide the fact that I have
always wanted Talbot to perform better. The estate is now at a crucial juncture
after a century of ownership. Does it want to continue as it has done in the
past? Or does it put history aside, take a good hard look at itself, make some
bold decisions and unlock that intangible limiter that impedes Talbot from
achieving something greater? From speaking to Laporte, it is the latter. His
appointment was a bold decision, and what lies ahead might surpass the first
100 years. By that time, I hope my family will have developed an appreciation
for wine, encouraging me to finally serve a bottle of Talbot for Christmas once
again. <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?sort%5Bdirection%5D=desc&amp;sort%5Bname%5D=vintage&amp;wf_dirty=false&amp;wf_export_fields=&amp;wf_export_format=&amp;wf_id=&amp;wf_match=all&amp;wf_model=Wine&amp;wf_name=&amp;wf_order=vintage&amp;wf_order_type=desc&amp;wf_page=1&amp;wf_per_page=25&amp;wf_submitted=true&amp;wf_type=WillFilter%3A%3AFilter&amp;wine_filter%5Barticle_id%5D=2377&amp;wine_filter%5Bproducer_id%5D=3819">See the Wines from Youngest to Oldest</a><hr>You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/the-cat-s-whiskers-bordeaux-1961-oct-2019">The Cat’s Whiskers: Bordeaux 1961</a>, Neal Martin, October 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-century-of-bordeaux-the-nines-sep-2019">A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines</a>, Neal Martin, September 2019<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/songs-full-of-light-lafaurie-peyraguey-1906-2018-aug-2019">Songs Full of Light - Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1906-2018</a>, Neal Martin, August 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/two-imaginary-boys-pichon-lalande-aug-2019">Two Imaginary Boys: Pichon-Lalande</a>, Neal Martin, August 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/looking-the-part-pichon-baron-1953-2015-jan-2019">Looking The Part: Pichon-Baron 1953 – 2015</a>, Neal Martin, January 2019

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